


And We're Rolling

by Amyz3119



Category: The 100 (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe, F/F
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-07-26
Updated: 2016-08-20
Packaged: 2018-07-26 19:50:43
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 9,514
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7587610
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Amyz3119/pseuds/Amyz3119
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Lexa Woods is a rising star in the Hollywood scene.  Clarke Griffin hates the term paparazzi but she knows she has a gift for grabbing headlines.  When Clarke is given her new assignment, the conflict within them both begins.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Feedback is always welcome.

Chapter 1

"Lexa, over here."

"Lexa, smile for the camera."

"Ms. Woods, turn to the left just a bit."

Her dress was black and off the shoulder while her hair was straight and parted down the middle which is how she liked to wear it best. A little hint of blonde cascading through the bottom half of the ever present brown. Her shoes were black, her lipstick red and her eyes greener than usual given her pupils were nearing pinpoints against the lights.

The flashes were almost as overwhelming as the shouting as Lexa Woods stood in front of the backdrop of the latest award ceremony she was attending in Los Angeles. Even though she had attended a few of these events in the past, she had a higher profile now. It seemed like only yesterday when she was struggling to find work in commercials and obscure TV appearances.

Lexa Woods was discovered nearly 2 years ago when she landed a guest role on a TV show for a low ranking cable network. Being that she was only a guest star, she was able to look for additional roles in the industry during her down time and, after several failed auditions, she secured a much coveted role in a primetime TV spin off. While knowing she could never pass up the opportunity for this new role, she begrudgingly agreed to let her original character be killed off in order to move on.  
It wasn't what she wanted to do but in the end she really didn't have a choice. The director was a complete narcissistic tool and Lexa knew he would never see the backlash that ended up coming. She conferred often with her manager about how to handle the fallout. She didn't want to be known in the industry as spoiled or combative. In the end, she handled the situation with as much grace and class as she had in her. 

Lexa hated that it was such a detriment for the people she worked with but it did result in many articles and posts about her character and subsequently kept her profile in the media for months.

It also solidified the moment her career began to take off. At 23, Lexa Woods was the newest, hottest actress in television. She loved her fans and she loved the job. 'The Dead Ones' seemed poised to do as well as its predecessor and Lexa hoped her character could expect a long tenure on the show.

But she absolutely abhorred the attention it brought. She couldn't even go the grocery without a few paparazzi being in her face. She tried to remind herself to be grateful. This was her dream. Her mother had taught her from an early age that with every dream comes a little sacrifice. She missed her and wished she could share in the success she was having now. But she knew her mom was looking down on her from somewhere above. 

Lexa prayed every night that she made her proud.

The flashes continued until she felt a slight tug on her arm. Her manager, Anya Forrester, was there guiding her to the next cluster of people - this time holding microphones which they promptly thrust in her face asking question after question. 

"What should we expect from your character in season 2?" 

"How was filming in Baja?"

"How much do you love your fans?"

Lexa could talk about her character, her fans, her experiences all day long. Truly she loved working with her colleagues on 'The Dead Ones' and she loved making sure her fans knew how much she appreciated them. She spoke with interviewer after interviewer, all down the line for nearly 40 minutes before Anya again placed her hand on her lower back, signaling it was time to move to the next station in the maze of reporters, cameras and VIPs.

Lexa's feet were starting to sting as Anya led her to the door behind the large auditorium where the cast would spend another hour fielding questions from fans in the audience. This was her favorite time during these events. She coveted hearing real questions from her fans. The sitting down was nice too.

"Anya, what time is the panel discussion? I want to take about ten minutes before it commences to sign some autographs and take some selfies with the people outside," Lexa asked as she grabbed a bottle of Fiji water from the craft table.

"You have about 30 minutes," Anya replied, not bothering to look up from her phone where she banged out an email or text like she did all day, every day.

Lexa took a long pull of water while she watched people start to fill into seats through the drawn curtain she stood behind. It was getting louder in the hall so she knew this could be a good time to slide out the back, take some quick pictures and be back before she was required to get on stage.

"Don't go far," Anya advised. "And take Lincoln with you."

Lincoln was an imposing force for sure, with all that tan skin and muscles abound. He had been working for Lexa for nearly four months and she had grown fond of him. He was funny and well read but when it was time to work, he was extremely protective and professional. Like the time the crowd had gotten around the barricade after her late night interview with Jimmy Kimmel and he had recognized the potential issue well before Lexa ever would have. He had whisked her into the car and told the driver to 'go, now' in a tone she had not heard from him before or since. 

It also helped that her female fans seemed to squeal as much for him as they did for her. 

Lexa sighed. She knew it would be in her best interest to take Lincoln with her, but she relished the time when she could just walk outside for some fresh air without fear of being mobbed. But that time had passed, she reminded herself. Her dream. Her sacrifice.

"Lincoln, want to make some fans happy?" 

Lincoln simply grinned at Lexa and followed her out the door.

\---------------------------------

Lexa was back with several minutes to spare, feeling good about the smiles she was able to elicit from people with simple things like a kind word or laughing at a fabulous tee shirt. Or even praising some fan art that was brought along to be signed.

It was simply amazing how talented people were in the world and it only made her understand that while she did have a gift, a lot of where she was now was based on timing and luck. 

Fate probably played a role too but Lexa wasn't sure how much she believed in something so intangible.

The panel finished right on time and she was free for the next few hours.

Anya was standing next to her as they rode the elevator up to their suite. "Everything ok?" she asked as Lexa moved to take off her shoes and rub the back of her calves.  
"Absolutely," Lexa replied, "other than I'm starving. How about dinner somewhere? I want to go over my schedule for tomorrow as well as figure out when we can get me fully moved into the house. "

"Fine by me as long as you pick the place. And pick up the tab." Anya gave Lexa a smirk through the mirror in the elevator as it continued to ascend.

Lexa just shook her head and smiled. "As long as you don't eat all the snacks out of the minibar again like you did two weeks ago at that thing in Vegas. I mean Jesus Anya, I was only gone for five minutes."

The doors opened to their floor and Lexa entered their two bedroom suite finally allowing herself time to take a deep breath. The celebrity thing was not always a blessing.

____________________________

"This isn't working for me anymore."

She slouched in the chair in front of Bellamy Blake's desk and exhaled heavily against her second coffee of the day, having just gone over the weekend round up. Which celebrities had gotten into a screaming fight, who was seen out shitfaced drunk with someone that was not their reported significant other, who was blasting someone else on Twitter or Instagram or - God forbid - Snapchat. 

Bellamy sat across from her with his hands folded, glasses on at the end of his nose as he waited for her to elaborate. Because with 25-year-old Clarke Griffin, there was always more inside that head of hers. 

"I want to be back out in the field."

This time it was Bellamy's turn to sigh. Clarke was his right hand. She had a natural gift for getting behind the scenes almost anywhere and for getting people to open up and talk to her. He never asked about how she got the information she did, but she was a master at it and that was good enough.

"Clarke, I hate to put you back in the field because you know how limiting that can be for the business," Bellamy began, not really expecting this to be anything but wasted breath. Once Clarke decided to do something, she was nearly impossible to derail.

"I know Bellamy because it will mean I am handling only one avenue of information but it's time for me to get outside of this office. I can't stand spending all my time on the phones trying to follow up on leads with my contacts from anonymous tips that come in over the website or from some of these junior idiots you have employed. I 'm burning out. I need to be outside, moving and shaking. Not behind some desk sitting on my ass all day."

When Clarke sits up in her chair a little straighter, passionate fire burning in her eyes, Bellamy knows he has already lost.

"Ok," Bellamy relents as he stands and moves around the desk to lean against the outer edge in contemplation, " I will agree with your new role here as long as I get to pick the celebrity. You're good Clarke and you know it and we need to maximize your abilities to glean the most detail we can so we can generate the most sales to magazines."

Clarke stands too and gives him a brief hug, smiling brightly against the backdrop of another Monday. "Thanks Bellamy, you know I won't let you down."

"I know Clarke, you haven't so far. And that streak is bound to continue. You love the challenge and you certainly don't like to lose. Go on and get out of here. Enjoy an afternoon off in the Los Angeles sunshine."

Clarke is already halfway out the office door before Bellamy can finish the sentence.

She drives her convertible Mustang as fast as possible when dealing with the traffic that is inherent to Los Angeles. The wind through her hair and the sun shining across the windshield does wonders for her mood and she doesn't stop until she's outside her condo in West Hollywood. 

Working for Bellamy has paid well and it has helped that her mom is a highly regarding surgeon at Good Samaritan Hospital off Wilshire Blvd. Abby had helped her with the down payment on her condo and Clarke had paid for the brand new car with her bonus check that Bellamy gave her at Christmas. In L.A. you are as judged by your car as you are by your appearance. Can't go to an upscale club or restaurant and roll up in a clunker. You cannot be in Clarke's line of work and not expect to have to frequent some of these places. It just isn't how it works out here and never has been.

Clarke opens the door after pulling into the parking garage and sees that she is not alone. While her mom helped with the down payment, her roommate Raven Reyes helps with half the utilities and a quarter of the rent. It's still a good deal for them both and with the condo being three bedrooms, there is plenty of room for each of them. Clarke even has a small darkroom built into the bathroom of the third bedroom which is now her office. 

"What are you doing home in the middle of the day," Raven asks with a mouth full of some kind of cereal as the bowl balances precariously on her lap. She's reading the newest magazine that has come to the house. Clarke subscribes to them all. She has to keep an eye out on the competition - from US Weekly to People to the rags that are far from legit. She doesn't pay them as much attention given their aptitude for breaking headlines such as 'Aliens impregnate Snooki' or 'Elvis Lives With James Dean or Mars' but sometimes they have a headline which leads to an idea.

And Clarke has learned over the years that sometimes an idea is all she needs.

"I asked Bellamy to put me back in the field and he agreed. Then he let me have the rest of the day off probably to contemplate where he's going to assign me."

"Good for you Clarke, I know it's something you have been wanting for awhile now," Raven commented as she turned the page. "Is this some of your work?" she asked citing a picture of Angelina and Brad out with their kids.

"No but I hope Bellamy doesn't give me that gig. Way too many paps are already all over that. And they can afford the good bodyguards so it is hard to get near them," Clarke continued while trying to find a mug to pour some coffee. "Plus I am ready for a new challenge. Brangelina is so tired; I need to find someone fresh, new, rising."

Raven wiped her mouth with the back of her hand as some milk dribbled from it when she took an enormous bite or what now appeared to be Cinnamon Toast Crunch. "I am sure Bellamy will give you someone good. He likes to win almost as much as you do."

Clarke heaped several spoonfuls of sugar into the mug. "I love to win of course but I think I love the challenge of getting there better."

"What does Finn think about it? Isn't he the reason you stopped in the first place?" Raven closed the magazine and slide off the stool by the kitchen bar to take her now empty cereal bowl to the sink. 

Clarke tried to stifle the annoyed expression that always seemed to come over her whenever Finn's name was mentioned these days. "I haven't told him yet. I don't think he'll be too happy about this change since it will require late night hours and more travel. He didn't like it before but we've hit a rough patch in the relationship and I think a lot of it is because I am unhappy at work. Maybe this is what we need to get through it."

Clarke knew that was probably the last thing that was going to help her and Finn regain what they had lost but she also knew that she couldn't deny herself the chance to do what she loved any longer. She had to come first.

"Well Clarke, you know I support you no matter what and I will be sure to take care of our house when you are out and about until all hours of the night flirting with the barista or the host to try and gain some insight as to what Actor X had at Starbucks or how Actress Y is allergic to pine nuts."

Sometimes Raven's sarcasm rivaled her own.

"Well I guess with that attitude I'll be sure NOT to invite you to the parties, award ceremonies, concerts or the like that are a part of this job as well."

Raven looked a little panicked until she saw the smirk Clarke was giving her. 

"Bitch, please," Raven said after a few moments. "You know there is no better wingman than me. I can play your best friend, a groupie or your girlfriend. Whatever the situation requires. I'm just that good."

Clarke could do nothing but agree, "Of course Raven. You can be my plus-one anytime. I'm headed to the beach for the day. Want to join?"

"It helps to take the day off when you're the boss of the company. Don't have to ask me twice," Raven replied as she bounded off to change.

Clarke took another sip of her coffee and set the cup on the table when she heard a ding that signaled a text message on her iPhone. She glanced at it and saw Bellamy has sent her a message asking her to check her email.

Wanting to kill some time as Raven was busy packing her beach wear, Clarke went to her home office and booted up her computer. She saw the email right away and opened it.

"Clarke,  
I think I have found your new assignment. Come in tomorrow and we'll figure out the details.  
~ B"

Clarke saw the attachment and double clicked it open, wondering how Bellamy had so quickly figured out where the newest scoop may lie.

Clarke certainly wasn't prepared for her screen to be filled with the most beautiful woman she had ever laid eyes on. She was wearing a black dress that hung off her shoulders but the photo was mostly a head shot. It was comprised of her face, with brunette hair parted down the middle, green eyes and a light sheen of nude lip gloss. She faced directly into the camera with no teeth showing in her smile and a sultriness that seemed to reside in her eyes. The slight arch of her eyebrow could have been construed as cockiness but Clarke had been around enough Hollywood people that she knew what it was really was. 

Her newest challenge.

Raven peeked her head around the corner of the office. "Ready to go, Clarke?"

"Yes, just shutting down." Clarke closed the email and managed to convince herself that the increase in her heartbeat was from excitement of getting back out there in the field.  
Not because her newest assignment was one of the hottest up and coming actresses in Hollywood.

"Challenged accepted Bellamy," Clarke mumbled to herself as she made a new file folder on the desktop of her computer.

She was still lost in thought when Raven yelled from the kitchen, "Clarke, come on!"

Clarke shut the laptop down but the file name was the last thing she saw as the screen went to black.

Lexa Woods.


	2. Chapter 2

Lexa Woods stood on the balcony of her new home, swirling a glass of cabernet sauvignon against the backdrop of lights that make up Los Angeles below her view. It wasn't just any glass of cabernet however, it was a glass from a bottle of Bryant Family Cabernet Sauvignon 2012 that the director had given her after the first season of 'The Dead Ones' was complete. She had learned after looking it up that there are only 1,000 bottles produced annually and they retail at $ 600 a piece.

Lexa intended to enjoy this bottle slowly.

It was just before midnight and it had been a little less than a week since she had officially moved into her new place. Only earlier in the day did she put the finishing touches on the furniture with the delivery of a new couch and table that would make up the majority of her living room.

The house was only two bedrooms but the open, airy space connecting the kitchen and the living room was what attracted her to the site when Anya had shown her several photos from various open rentals in her price range. Lexa wasn't ready to commit to a purchase - LA homes were notoriously expensive - but she was ready to settle in somewhere she could call her own during the time she wasn't filming.

She had relished the first few days of freedom after the event she had recently attended with Anya. She read books, caught up with some of her favorite shows on Netflix and ordered in from some of her favorite restaurants. But that solitude was short lived. She was already antsy, feeling restless and wanting something more structured and concrete to do with her free time. Filming for season two of 'The Dead Ones' didn't start for two months so she had a lot of time to kill and not many people to kill it with.

Anya was always telling her she needed to branch out, make new friends. Lexa agreed with her in theory but when push came to shove she was much more likely to be found just like this... enjoy wine alone in her home. Relaxing in anonymity.

Lexa didn't trust a lot of people. She had her friends that she grew up with but they had their own lives and seemed only interested in hanging out when it meant being seen. Clubs, restaurants and social events. Those things that Lexa liked to avoid when she could because for her it meant cameras and lights and interruption. She knew her friends meant well but they couldn't understand what it was like to be under that kind of scrutiny all the time. Lexa's idea of a perfect night out was a restaurant off the grid with great food and even better wine where she showed up unannounced. She usually could then enjoy the meal for an hour or two before social media started announcing where she was and paparazzi started flocking to the location.

As a result, her friends were still her friends but she found herself isolating from them more and more when she wasn't filming. Anya was the only one she really spent any meaningful time with socially. 

She now considered Anya to be one of her closest friends and most trusted allies.

Lexa had moved to the kitchen island where the cabernet bottle sat, still half full, to pour herself another glass. Her phone was set to vibrate which was another action she took during down time to give herself time to relax and unwind. She tried to unplug from reality and check her phone only a few times each day. So she was startled mid pour when it hummed against the granite marble of the counter.

A sense of dread and a shot of adrenaline played war in her stomach for a moment given the late hour of the call. It reminded her of the call she got four years ago in the middle of the night. 

The one about her mother.

Shaking her head free of the memory, Lexa swiped her finger across the screen to answer the call from Anya. She couldn't even say hello before Anya's voice filled the room .

"Lexaaaaa," Anya yelled through the speaker trying to scream above the obvious club music that was doing its best to drown out her voice.

Lexa smiled as she held the phone out from her ear to avoid permanent damage. "Jesus Anya, where are you? It sounds like you're on top of a speaker."

"We're at The Conga Room. Why don't you come out and join us for a drink?"

Lexa jut shook her head. "Thanks for the offer Anya, but I'm a little more than half a bottle in now and there's no way I'm going to try and get down there at this time of night."

"Which bottle?" Anya practically growled.

"No, it's not the Ghost Horse, Anya. I promised you I wouldn't open that one until you were here with me to enjoy it." Lexa imagined Anya might be able to actually hear the rolling of her eyes had the music not been so loud.

"It better not be," Anya's voice relaxed a bit after Lexa's confirmation. "A $1,000 bottle of wine? I better get a glass for sure."

"I did promise, Anya."

There was a slight pause before Anya continued. "You need to get out of the house, Lexa," Anya replied while the music seemed to dim around her signifying she was more than likely walking outside, "you have another 8 weeks before you have to go down to Baja for filming and I don't want you moping around. You need to be spontaneous every now and again."

Lexa sighed inaudibly. She knew that Anya normally meant well and a tipsy-on-alcohol-Anya meant well and was notoriously pushy but Lexa also knew that a loud, crowded club wasn't what she was looking for in an evening out. "Thanks Anya, but you know I enjoy time to myself and I promise when I am feeling up to partying, you will be the first person I call."

"I'm the only person you call," Anya finished with emphasis on the 'only'.

Lexa chuckled as she made her way toward the floor to ceiling glass windows that served as the anchor to her living area. "I promise Anya, we'll figure something out here in the next few days and we'll make some plans for a fun evening. Now go have fun and tell Nyko and Gus I said hello."

The music was growing louder again as Anya replied, "I will and so that I hold you to it, I will be making the plans for next Saturday. So no backing out and no trying to tell me you have plans. I am your schedule and I know what you have going on. Nothing."

"Yeah, yeah." Lexa knew better than to argue. "Be safe, Anya."

"Good night Lexa." The music was swiftly cut off and Lexa slid the phone into the pocket of her pants. 

Lexa swirled the wine against the backdrop of the lights of Los Angeles and took a long draw on the wine. 

Spontaneous. 

She could be spontaneous. 

She tipped the glass and finished the rest of its contents, mindful that she was getting to that stage where she became a little too loose and a little too confident. Not who she was in reality but who she wished she could be all the time.

Lexa lifted the wine glass by her shoulder and turned to face the inside of her new home, the view of the city behind her in the reflection. She pulled her phone from her pants pocket, unlocking it with her passcode and tapping the Instagram app before she had too much time to think. She had no flash so her face was shaded a bit as it was only enhanced by the low light in the kitchen but the lights behind her from the city itself were gorgeous. The picture reflected a portion of her kitchen island but nothing that could give away were she lived. The city lights blurred in the background which set off the image like colored stars in the sky above.

"Celebrating." She typed the caption and hit 'share' and the image was now out there for all her nearly one million followers to see.

Lexa knew the likes and comments would flood in within seconds and she felt the pang of regret for only a moment before she allowed herself to let it go. She closed the balcony door and took the wine glass to the island. She poured the last of the wine and made her way toward the bedroom.

She never could waste good wine. 

And at $600 for the bottle, it was very good wine indeed.

\---------------------------------------

 

Clarke Griffin stretched her arms above her head and twisted her back to try and work out the kinks that clung to her bones as a result of sitting in a chair in her office for the past 5 hours at work on her computer.

She had been spending this amount of time every day for the past week - ever since she had gotten her new assignment from Bellamy. 

She had been living and breathing one Lexa Woods.

So intent on her task at hand she nearly jumped out of her chair when Raven poked her head inside the doorway to her office while simultaneously knocking on the door.

"Holy shit Clarke, it's 11:30 on Saturday night and you're here working?" Raven stood in the doorway with a look of complete shock on her face, most of it real.

Clarke minimized the website and closed the screen of the laptop which Raven understood was her queue to come into the office. Clarke's desk was in the far corner of the room so that she faced out toward the entrance and therefore her laptop could not be seen from someone at the door. They had an understanding that Clarke's work was private. She never shared any information with Raven so that if something broke about a celebrity , Clarke could never question if Raven was involved.

Clarke stood, stretching again. "It's been awhile since I have been assigned anyone specific for the job. You know that means a lot of preliminary work has to be done."

"I also haven't forgotten that they call you 'Party Girl Griffin' either and even when you were in the field before, I never saw you glued to the screen on a Saturday night." Raven moved into the room and took a seat in the oversized chair, flipping her feet up on the matching ottoman.

"I am just getting my feet wet again Raven, that's all." Raven moved to the side of the chair, offering a place for Clarke who shook her head. "I have been sitting for hours. It's nice to stand up for a bit."

"So is everything going ok?" Raven raised an eyebrow at Clarke knowing she could only say so much without sounding like she was prying.

"Yeah, I'm just a little rusty and I am trying to make sure I have everything complete and correct before I move into the actual field," Clarke replied.

In actuality, being rusty was a concern but that was not what Clarke was having a hard time with. Lexa Woods was a tough nut to crack. There was very little about her on social media that didn't sound like a bio that every celebrity had. There were pictures of course, but nothing that didn't come from either an event she attended or head shots. Her social media pages were tame at best and she rarely posted pictures of herself. And when she did, there was nothing in the photo that could help one determine where it was taken so one could see if there was any places Lexa frequented. 

Lexa mostly used Twitter and Instagram but mainly as a platform for support of her favorite causes and charities. Clarke couldn't find a picture of her with a boyfriend, at a coffee shop, at a club, at a restaurant. Nothing.

All-in-all, Lexa Woods appeared to be one of the most boring celebrities on the planet.

Three days in, Clarke had caught up with Bellamy on the phone. She had been pacing all around her condo as she tended to do when she was frustrated. "What the hell are you thinking that this woman is going to do anything a magazine will be interested in?"

"I am assuming this means you are having a difficult time coming up with your jumping off point?" Bellamy had asked her. "You been off your game for too long, Clarke?"

She had ignored his thinly veiled attempt to challenge her. Really, like Bellamy Blake was going to motivate Clarke Griffin? 

"Bellamy, remember how we agreed that I am great at my job and you don't question how I get my information so you can deny any culpability? I am just trying to tell you that it's hard to dig up dirt on someone who is this squeaky clean."

"It's the quiet ones that always have the biggest secrets, Clarke."

Bellamy's statement had made Clarke stop pacing mid-step.

All Clarke needed sometimes was an idea. The idea would be her way in.

"I'll be in touch," she had said as she hung up the phone, not bothering to listen to Bellamy's response.

But here she was, on a Saturday night no less, still trying to come up with the angle to see find the real Lexa Woods. 

"Well, I am headed out to meet up with Octavia," Raven stood from the chair and only then did Clarke notice she was dressed in some white slacks, a dark blue cropped halter top and some light make-up. "I would ask you to join us but...." Raven drifted off, eyeing Clarke from head to toe.

"Your abs should be illegal," Clarke sighed as she looked down and realized what Raven was referring to - her evening attire consisted of sweatpants and a coffee stained tee shirt. 

"How is the restaurant gig going?" Clarke asked as she followed Raven down the hall to the kitchen. 

"Octavia says it's going great," Raven replied, grabbing her purse and keys off the hall butler. Octavia had landed the job six months ago as the bar manager at Le Avion, an upscale French restaurant that had made the top 10 trendiest eateries in LA for the past 3 years.

Clarke had read in a recent review that they had great food and even better wine.

"She is starting to get some regulars and she loves the manager because he doesn't hover. He lets her do her thing and you know if anyone is good at doing their thing, it's Octavia." Clarke grinned and nodded in agreement with Raven applied a quick swipe of fresh lip gloss and opened the front door.

"Be safe, Raven and call if you need me," Clarke said and she saw Raven give her the thumbs up as she closed the door behind her.

Clarke blew out a breath as she walked back down to her office. She was at a stand still for the night and she knew it would be better to start again fresh in the morning. She sat down and went to close her laptop when she heard the faint ding of a notification.

It didn't come from her computer but from her phone that sat to the left on her desk.

She unlocked the screen and saw the badge on the front of her iPhone.

'Lexa Woods has posted a new Instagram photo.'

Clarke's heart skipped a beat as she opened the Instagram app. She had followed Lexa on every social media outlet she could once she learned she was the new assignment. She followed a ridiculous amount of celebrities on the site so even though the picture had just been posted, Clarke had to swipe through several others until she got to Lexa Woods' account.

There it was.

Lexa Woods, her face shadowed from the lack of a flash from the selfie. The background showing the lights of Los Angeles behind her. The timing of the picture mingled with the reflection of the glass windows left the lights blurry but beautiful. 

The lights weren't the only thing beautiful in the post. 

Clarke had spent so much time looking at pictures of Lexa over the past week, she felt she had memorized her face. But every time was like looking at it all together new. Lexa was breathtaking. 

Truly.

Clarke stared at the photograph for several more minutes. Her phone was about ready to enter rest mode when she saw it. Something in the reflection of the glass.   
Heart beating a little faster, Clarke clicked on the three dots at the top of the post and pasted it to a new URL on her computer. She enlarged the photo and saw it was a wine bottle. 

When she blew it up a little further, her heart nearly stopped.

Four years ago, when Clarke had turned 21, her mother had thrown her a surprise girls weekend with her best friends. She had bought airline tickets and flown Clarke, Raven and Octavia to the Vaca Mountains in California. They enjoyed the beautiful mountains for three days in a rental chalet. On the last night, they had gone to a vineyard atop Pritchell Hill which overlooked Lake Hennessey. They had an exclusive tour of the facility and dinner and wine tasting in a private room. 

When they left the vineyard, Abby had bought Clarke a bottle of wine to remember the trip by. Clarke still had it, waiting for a day that would be worthy of celebrating enough to crack open a $ 600 bottle of wine.

Clarke knew that label of the wine in the picture that Lexa had posted. 

Grainy though the photo was, she knew what it was without a doubt.

Bryant Family Cabernet Sauvignon 2012.

Clarke's eyes lit up against the backdrop of the lights of Los Angeles that shone in the Instagram photo that Lexa Woods had posted minutes ago.

She had found her way in.


	3. Chapter 3

Lexa Woods found herself pulled from sleep shortly after 9 am by the same light beeping tone that signified she was getting a text. 

She had been awakened in this same manner for the last two days.

She knew what the text from Anya was going to read before she even unlocked her iPhone and she wasn't surprised.

"You got another one."

Lexa sighed and sat up on the side of the bed, hitting Anya's number as she stretched her legs out in front of her. There was only one ring before she heard Anya's voice on the other line, excited and giddy.

Anya could only rarely be described as giddy.

"I swear to God, Lexa if this was the response you can expect to receive from posting a photo, next time can we make the picture a Mercedes AMG GT or something?"  
Lexa simply smiled into the phone. "Anya, there's a difference between a $600 bottle of wine and a $ 150,000 sports car. But yeah, I'll be sure to try that next time."

Anya had first called Lexa on Tuesday to tell her she had received a package sent by special delivery to her relatively new office. Anya Forrester was not a major talent agent but she had a few actors under her purview, even though Lexa Woods was currently her most famous. Anya had worked from a small one room office for many years and that was how Lexa had met her originally. Anya had been willing to take a chance on her and she was willing to do the same. Anya was loud, brash and seldom took no for an answer. She had built up her client base and had done well enough in the past 12 months that she had been able upgrade the office space for TriKru & Associates to four rooms on the 11th floor of a new built building in Echo Park. 

The package had been plain, a bottle of Bryant Family Cabernet Sauvignon 2012 wrapped in bubble wrap and boxed. An envelope had laid atop the bottle and Lexa had instructed Anya to open it when she had spoken with her on the phone about the package. Anya often opened Lexa's fan mail and gifts but when she had received this one she had called Lexa right away. She recognized this was more than just your average mail and gifts than what Lexa normally received through her office.

This seemed personal. 

But the note in the envelope hadn't been.

"From a fan," was all it had said.

Orignally, Lexa had to admit she had been slightly disappointed that there had been no signature. Something like this hadn't come from her normal fan base, it was too high end for most people with whom she had connected on screen through her characters.

Lexa knew that whoever had sent the bottle had good taste in wine. And obviously had money. Feeling slighty uncomfortable, she realized that the only way someone would have known to send her this wine would be someone familiar with the brand. Her Instagram post hadn't been clear enough to dechiper it otherwise.

But Lexa had chalked it up to a director or producer that might be trying to sweeten her up - she was reading scripts for several different roles after all. She had dismissed it almost as soon as she had hung up with an over the top Anya who was profusely thanking her when Lexa had told her she could have it.

That is until the next day when Anya had texted her, asking her to call in when she woke. When she did, Lexa had learned there was another package that had been delivered. Same wrapping, same envelope and same stationary. 

"From a fan."

Lexa had felt a twinge of unease. This was expensive wine and while she appreciated her fans to no end, she also had incurred her fair share of inappropriate response from some as well. Nothing that bordered on stalking per se but she also knew that becoming more popular in the mainstream could lead to these situations.

That was one of the reasons she kept a low profile as much as was possible.

Anya had calmed her fears over the phone and Lexa had again told her to keep the bottle. 

But now a third bottle had arrived in as many days and Lexa was really at a loss as to what was going on. "Is there an envelope again? " Lexa had asked as she rose from her bed and padded into the kitchen to fix herself some coffee. 

"Yes, but I haven't opened it yet," Lexa heard Anya say through the speaker of her phone while she ran some water through her Keurig and randomly selected a flavor from her carosuel of K-cups. "I can open it real quick if you want to hang on."

Lexa had a better idea. "Are you going to be in the office most of today?" 

She head Anya clicking on her computer, undoubtedly checking her schedule. "Until at least 2 pm," she paused, " I have a meeting scheduled at 3 with the people from Entertainment Weekly about your photo shoot tomorrow." 

"Ok, hang tight then," Lexa replied. "I'm coming down there."

\---------------------------------------- 

Lexa came through the doors to Anya's office and nodded softly as Anya held her hand up to signal that she was on her Bluetooth. 

"Yes, I know you want to see if she liked the script but as I told you yesterday she is still going through her options and she is not willing to settle in on any decisions until she has looked at all opportunities. And you know, filming her tv show has to be considered in any decision made." Anya rolled her eyes and Lexa got the feeling that these were the same conversations Anya got to have most days.

Lexa didn't envy her job in the least.

She sat down on the plush, lengthy couch that Anya had in the corner of her office. Fan mail and boxes were spread along the large coffee table that sat in front of the couch. One could see the bustle of Los Angeles out from the windows in the office which was was small but welcoming. Lexa found herself proud of what her friend had become. Being an agent in Hollywood was not always easy. Being a female agent was even more difficult. And while Anya had never backed down from a negotiation in her life, she had also made it a point to make sure her clients were treated fairly and with respect. 

That, Lexa had found in her dealings, was even more rare in this industry.

Lexa saw at the edge of the table a box with brown wrapping paper partially torn away at the top and lid inside stamped with 'Bryant Family Vineyards.' She raised her eyebrows toward it. Anya nodded and gestured toward her while standing and walking down the hall as she continued her conversation. 

Anya's voice faded as she walked further away, but Lexa had already tuned her out as she slid the box onto her lap.

She removed the lid to find the bottle of wine laying amongst several layers of bubble wrap and she could tell the packaging was done at the winery itself. But the envelope showed no sign of the Bryant Family stamp, unlike when the producer of 'The Dead Ones' had presented her with the boxed bottle before. 

She sat the box back onto the coffee table and held the letter in her hand.

On the envelope, neatly written was her name. 'Ms. Lexa Woods.'

Her hands were a bit shaky as she opened flap which wasn't sealed but merely tucked into itself and removed the card .

It was white, non descript and devoid of any markings. Lexa lifted it to find the words written in black ink, the same handwriting on the inside. 

"From a fan..."

Lexa's first thought was that a woman had written the note. It was the way the 'f's' in the letter held a slight flourish that made her assume the hypothesis but then again there was simply not enough detail to make a reasonable, solid judgment.

She heard Anya telling whoever was on the line that she would get back with them next week as she returned to the room and took a seat behind her desk, pulling the bluetooth out of her ear, looking at Lexa as she laid it on the desk.

"So, any clues as to our mystery gift giver?" Anya asked her while pulling up her computer to check her emails. 

"Nothing," Lexa replied. "Although my gut tells me it was written by a woman."

Anya paused and looked up from her laptop for a moment. "I thought the same thing. But that doesn't mean it really came from one. You know these directors have their 'girls' write shit for them all the time." Anya used air quotes to further her sarcasm at the word 'girls.' 

" All I know is that it better not be someone from over at another agency trying to win you away now that you've arrived on the scene."

Lexa laughed at Anya's slightly concerned face. "You know I would never leave you, woman, and certainly not for a few bottles of good wine. Maybe if there was a Mercedes in the picture though....."

Lexa ducked as Anya threw a pen at her from the desk. 

"Hey! Don't be trying to mar up my face before my shoot tomorrow with Entertainment Weekly! No one wants to be unable to distinguish me from the zombies I fight on the show!" Lexa stood and went to place the note back into the envelope.

That's when she saw it.

On the back of the note, at the very bottom of the fold were two small x's side by side. Lexa ran her fingers over the letters. Written in black ink and not a part of the stationary itself. They were placed there without a doubt.

"Do you still have the other bottles that came Tuesday and Wednesday?" Lexa asked Anya, still staring at the letter.

"You said I could have those!" Her defensive tone was not lost on Lexa and she moved to defuse the situation right away.

"Anya, I'm not taking the wine. I want to see the notes that came with them."

Anya stood and moved to the closet area on the left side of the room, opening the door to reveal the boxes on the floor. "I was going to take them home tonight and enjoy one with a hot bath."

"Way too much information, Anya."

Lexa slid the papers out of each of the envelopes and turned the stationary over.

Same two x's aligned the fold of the note.

She didnt say anything to Anya. Lexa didn't know why but she wanted this to be something she kept to herself.

"What time do I need to be on location tomorrow for the shoot?," Lexa asked as she placed all three of the anonymous communications into her Louis Vuitton and held the one box carrying the wine in her arms.

"They said between 10:30 and 11. They want to get you done with hair and make-up by noon and have the shoot down by 3. Inside and outside shots are planned and craft services will be on set. You can swing by here if you want or I can meet you there. Which is easier?"

Lexa contemplated for a moment before she replied , " I'll meet you here at 9 and we'll ride over together. We can talk about the scripts on the way over. Can you get a car for us?"

"Consider it done. See you at 9." Anya went back to her emails and Lexa walked out of the office. 

She looked at her watch. It was a little after noon. She was nowhere closer to narrowing down her mystery wine benefactor than she was when she got the text from Anya this morning.

But Lexa thought that just maybe she had a way to whittle it down a little more.

\-----------------------------------------

Clarke Griffin was tired.

It was a little before noon and she had been sitting in her car for the past hour outside the office building in Echo Park, waiting. It was Thursday and this had been her stop for the past 2 days. If she counted the hours in her head she realized she had spent collectively nearly 10 hours in her car staring at the front of a 15 story office building with glass for windows and even a valet for the big time celebrities that moved in and out.

Clarke had realized earlier in the week that while Lexa Woods might be difficult to locate, it wasn't too hard to find her manager, Anya Forrester. 

And eventually where Anya was, Lexa was sure to be.

Clarke was keeping her fingers crossed that the plan she had set in motion would yield some results. If she was going to find the story she was going to have to actually find Lexa Woods first.

It hadn't been hard to come up with the plan to send Lexa Woods some wine. The hard part was convincing Bellamy to come up with the money it was going to take to buy it.

"Jesus Christ Clarke, she can't like something a little less expensive like some Dom Perignon or hell I'd even take some Crystal at this point." 

"You spend more money than that on hair product, Bell."

He didn't seemed to be amused and Clarke quickly moved to to adjust tactics. "You have to be willing to spend money to make money. Just think about all the money we will have coming in when I glean the scoop of the year in Hollywood. Not to mention the Bellamy Blake name being the talk of all the celebrities."

Clarke always had to talk Bellamy down from the rafters where money was involved. 

And Bellamy Blake always took the bait when it came to his name being thrown around amongst the Hollywood elite.

"Ok, Clarke, I will allocate $ 3,000 toward this ridiculous endeavor of yours but that is it. You don't come back with something substantial in 2 weeks time then...."

Clarke interrupted Bellamy before he had a chance to put some ultimatim out there that they both knew he would never follow through on. "Thanks Bellamy," she exclaimed and she gave him a peck on the cheek and flew out of his office.

"This girl is going to be the death of me," Bellamy mumbled as he followed behind her to close the door, watching Clarke practically skip down the hall, already looking at her phone to undoubtedly find the number for Bryant Family Vineyards.

And that was how Clarke had overnighted 5 bottles, individually packed, of Lexa Woods' favorite wine. She had them delivered to her condo and then for the past 3 days she had woken early enough to get have them special delivered to the office of Anya Forrester. 

Clarke Grffin getting up before 9 a.m. during the week? Even Raven had commented on her commitment to the job. 

"I don't think I have seen you this alert at 8:45 in the morning since you actualy came HOME at 8:45 in the morning from a night out," Raven had commented seeing Clarke shuffle her way into the kitchen, her hair thrown up in a messy bun and light make up already applied.

"I like being back in the field, Raven," Clarke told her while fixing herself a cup of coffee from the pot that Raven had already made.

"I know you love your job Clarke but I can tell you in all honesty that even when you were at your peak, I still never saw you up and at 'em this early."

Clarke didn't respond but she knew that Raven was subtley testing her. "I'm getting older Raven. I'm maturing and growing. And you know the saying, early bird gets the worm."  
Raven just smirked. "Any worm you've ever talked about, Clarke was the one at the bottom of a tequila bottle."

Clarke tossed the wadded up napkin she had just used to wipe up a spilled drip of coffee. Raven easily dodged it and Clarke just laughed and grabbed her duffle bag that held her camera, notebooks and a very expensive packaged bottle of wine and walked out the door.

All the teasing from Raven in the world didn't change what Clarke already knew. She was different about this assignement. She was intrigued by it. By her. 

By Lexa Woods.

Lexa Woods.

Lexa.

'Lexa!"

Clarke felt herself jump hearing the name of the woman that she undoubtedly had been thinking of before nodding off in the car.

Before she could manage to gather her thoughts, she heard the name again.

"Lexa".

She wasn't dreaming.

Standing about 20 feet from her car was Lexa Woods. She was holding her phone in her right hand while a Louis Vuitton purse dangling in the crook of her upturned arm. A box - about the size that would hold a bottle of wine - was gripped by her left hand and held close to her chest.

Lexa Woods was stopped and looking behind her, her eyes a little widen at the sound of her name again.

One of the valet drivers ran up to her, panting a little from the jog he must have taken from around from the back of the building.

"Ms. Forrester asked me to try and catch you and let you know to be here tomorrow at 9:30 instead of 9 for the photoshoot. EW said that the shoot would take place just outside their office so you don't have as far to go and Ms. Forrester said to tell you", the blonde man hesitated a moment, "to use the extra 30 minutes for your beauty sleep."  
Lexa laughed out loud and thanked the messenger, who blushed a little at the attention.

"Casey will be your driver home now and should have car here in just a second," he said to her and walked back toward the valet stand that sat behind the builidng, just out of Clarke's view.

But Clarke Griffin's view was already completely occupied.

Lexa Woods was a few footsteps away, now staring down at her phone and holding the box containing the wine that Clarke had bought her. A smile still adorned her face from the exchange with the valet.

Clarke was sure if anyone else had been there they would have seen something in her that no one had ever seen before.

There was no other word to describe it. Clarke Griffin was simply star struck. 

Lexa Woods was beautiful. Clarke knew that from the days that she had spent peering over the photos and articles about Lexa Woods, trying to decipher clues in the background that could help her learn more about the actress. But even in those hours, she spent more time looking at Lexa on paper than she should have.

But the photos did her no justice.

Lexa Woods was stunning. Even in her most casual, her hair in braids and large glasses adorning her face. 

Fucking stunning.

In less than a minute, Clarke watched a black car come around the corner and Lexa entered the back seat, undoubtedly graceful as she slid inside and closed the door. The windows were tinted so she could no longer be seen but Clarke was still staring in her direction watching the car drive out of sight, her camera in her bag beside her forgotten and the image of Lexa still burned under her eyelids.

Clarke sat there. She had been waiting for days to get a glimpse of Lexa Woods and now finally she had and she had blown it. No photo, no following her car, no nothing.

Except the fact that she now knew that Lexa Woods would be back tomorrow.

At 9:30.

To ride with Anya to a photo shoot with EW.

A plan was already formulating in Clarke's mind.

Tomorrow Clarke Griffin would officially meet Lexa Woods.


End file.
